U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry spoke at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Investor Center (EIC) “Bridges for Innovation Summit” at Rice Nov. 13. Held in partnership with Rice University’s Energy and Environment Initiative, the summit convened energy industry leaders, the investment community, academia, federal, state and local government officials, and energy experts from across DOE’s national laboratories. Diverse and global perspectives focused on catalyzing innovation and entrepreneurship, with a spotlight on smarter energy infrastructure that will boost prosperity and energy system reliability. Discussion topics included fostering innovation for a digitized resource world (energy, water, etc.), mitigating incubation and scale-up risks for entrepreneurs and innovators, and designing and deploying next-generation resilient infrastructure for electricity and mobility systems. Hosted by EIC Director Sanjiv Malhotra, other notable attendees included OPIC President and CEO Ray Washburne. (Photo by Tommy LaVergne.)